I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

I want a musky, sweet vanilla, sex smell. How close is Kouros?

I went from hating musks to loving musks and think scents like Keihls musk are way too weak. I want a strong musky sex scent. Is Kouros a good blind buy? I loved Tom Fords Urban Musc. I love gourmands.

I won't get the package delivered until next week. I'm excited and can't wait to smell it! This is my first blind buy.

My hopes:

It has a musky sex smell
It has 10+ hours longevity
It has strong projection

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Given what you said, yes a good blind buy. If you a looking for something stronger than Keihls (and perhaps sharing a quality or two with Kouros) I'd bet you'll like it. I don't get a predominant musky vibe with Kouros; rather, it's quite mossy, leathery and incense once it settles down. I've only got the vintage Kouros so things might be different with the current incarnation.

I see you have Urban Musk... have you checked out MR and MKK? With those I'd suggest you also try some Chaps Original. And, if you wanna be a mad man about it, check out some Ajmal Musk Gazelle Grade AA. I don't know if it gets any stronger than that.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

It seems a bit strange you didn't check before you bought it but whatever. Kouros is definitely not sweet vanilla, but you should get many hours of serious projection. Impossible to say if you will like it or not, but I will guess yes, in a big way.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Originally Posted by DuNezDeBuzier

Given what you said, yes a good blind buy. If you a looking for something stronger than Keihls (and perhaps sharing a quality or two with Kouros) I'd bet you'll like it. I don't get a predominant musky vibe with Kouros; rather, it's quite mossy, leathery and incense once it settles down. I've only got the vintage Kouros so things might be different with the current incarnation.

I see you have Urban Musk... have you checked out MR and MKK? With those I'd suggest you also try some Chaps Original. And, if you wanna be a mad man about it, check out some Ajmal Musk Gazelle Grade AA. I don't know if it gets any stronger than that.

I've smelled MR and liked it. I don't know of any places that have MKK to test.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

My dad used to wear it when I was much younger and I have pleasant memories. My brother owns a bottle now and it smells fantastic on him. I tried it, and sadly, I got the dreaded urinal vibe. I didn't scrub it off right away, hoping it would settle down but it didn't really work for me. I'm actually scared to try it again.

My brother and I have very different skin types. I hope it works for you because when it does, it's truly wonderful.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Is it the older formulation or the newer stuff with the white trim?

Having smelled both, I can tell you that the newer stuff has less of the urinuous note, and I get a bit more bergamot and yes, a bit more vanilla (I don't really get any vanilla from the previous formulation).

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Originally Posted by fraddicted

I bought it blind a couple years ago and it is fantastic! Smells like honey and hot buttered rum. Delicious!

I never get to the honey drydown. It seriously smells like a nasty urinal on me for hours and hours. I feel like people are looking at me trying to decide if I just lost control of my bladder or if I stole a soiled pair of pants from a homeless bum.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Originally Posted by timdoeswell

Is it the older formulation or the newer stuff with the white trim?

Having smelled both, I can tell you that the newer stuff has less of the urinuous note, and I get a bit more bergamot and yes, a bit more vanilla (I don't really get any vanilla from the previous formulation).

I won't know if it's the new design or the old bottle until it arrives early next week. I am eager to smell this fragrance!

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Originally Posted by jbthorpe

I never get to the honey drydown. It seriously smells like a nasty urinal on me for hours and hours. I feel like people are looking at me trying to decide if I just lost control of my bladder or if I stole a soiled pair of pants from a homeless bum.

I really wanted this one to work for me.

Honey notes are often, but not always, the ones that smell rather animalic to me - at the very least I feel they heighten other animalic notes in a fragrance (including musk): Kouros, Boss No 1, Moustache, Mink, and even the relatively clean Paco Rabanne PH are all given a bit of 'stank' through honey.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

I got a vintage mini bottle and wore it for the first time last week. I decided to do something daring, so I splashed it on right before dinner. I was immediately thrilled because it did not smell at all revolting....wow, another great masculine floral!!! So unique!

So, the dinner went well, however I sense that one of the three at the table was not pleased. I know you are not supposed to wear loud perfume to dinner, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

I love it and hope you do, too. As others have said, though, sweet vanilla is NOT in Kouros's DNA. It's hot sex in the men's room all the way. I wish new designer fragrances were this good, and this willing to take risks.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Not a gourmand at all. A one spray scent. Wear it low on your body, like below the belt...or your ankles. Spray it on the your chest, and you'll be overwhelmed. I like the fragrance, but the opening in very challenging. It's only "piss and urinals" in the beginning, but the dry-down is very nice. Furry and bestial!

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

It arrives tomorrow. I hope it is the old formula and not the new bottle!

I want a strong Kouros, not a watered down Kouros that takes 10 sprays.

Even fragrances that take 3 sprays for most people take 10 on me to last all day. It makes buying fragrances more expensive. I hope I get the strong long lasting projecting Kouros with all the dirty notes.

It would be nice to own something where 3 sprays projects and lasts all day.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Originally Posted by smellgood4u

It arrives tomorrow. I hope it is the old formula and not the new bottle!

I want a strong Kouros, not a watered down Kouros that takes 10 sprays.

Even fragrances that take 3 sprays for most people take 10 on me to last all day. It makes buying fragrances more expensive. I hope I get the strong long lasting projecting Kouros with all the dirty notes.

It would be nice to own something where 3 sprays projects and lasts all day.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Kouros is "The Paradigm" of Scents. It's reportedly indicated as the proof that every nose is different from another, because
50% of people will say "it's the heaven in a smell"; the other 50% , on the contrary, "horrendous".
Don't wait for answers from other people; only your nose will answer you.
In my opinion, the vintage Kouros is one of the best masculines ever produced. The modern one is still similar during first minutes, but with less longevity and sillage.
If you grab a vintage bottle, keep it with you, in any case you'll have a piece of perfume history.

Re: I blind purchased KOUROS. What can I expect when it arrives?

Dear Smellgood4u. You seem excited, as you should be, regarding your purchase of Kouros. The scent has incredible longevity, era-correct construction, and more character than a starving West Coast voice actor terrorizing a talent agency. I will do well by telling you my take on this much-maligned classic.

Kouros earned a bad reputation for being overly bold and the antithesis of mellow. This reputation had much grease thrown on the fire during the mid 1990's when "shiny, happy" scents began to appear with promises of aquatic notes and fresh florals. Scents like Santos by Cartier, Obsession by Calvin Klein, and Pour Lui by Oscar De La Renta were deemed "demon piss" while demure olfactory happy-faces like Aqua Di Gio, CK-One, and L'eau D'Issey earned praise and accolades (along with gaining sales) for providing an experience much akin to a good day in the laundry room. Splendid. Let's time trip back a little over two decades and join our unsuspecting protagonist, shall we?

Picture the scene: Marshall Field's Orland Square Mall location, first floor, men's fragrance counter. Our friend is perusing the selection of scents when he realizes that the same company who makes a newer scent he really likes has an offering from an earlier time. He looks at the styled white bottle, emblazoned with the word "KOUROS" and decides, "...never tried this. I'll give it a spin." *spritz* As the scent settles on the top of his hand, he notices a sharp presentation, much like a ladies scent. He gives it a minute before resigning to wash the attempt from his hand, and notices the sharpness fold into a floral impression, which then gives way to something resembling candy. What th.....? HONEY? Are you serious?? Strange, but not a sticky smell. Sweet, for sure, but after minutes....evolving. Some thirty minutes later, the young man still has the sample of the scent on his hand, but now the florals and honey have faded to a light shadow, and the scent of wood has taken over. Not a rich, opulent, milled type of wood, but rather something that resembles.....sawdust. Clearly the smell of a seriously abused type of wood. More time passes and the scent has been on for almost an hour. The young man, still quite new to the concept of fragrance and still lacking cultivated patience, discounts the presentation of the unique scent and goes over 15 years before revisiting it again.

The young man we speak of here is me. After this attempt at Kouros, I smirkingly regarded the scent as "Sawdust and Honey", and believe you me, once I came aboard Basenotes some 8 years ago, I was surprised and befuddled at why people referred to it as "The Urinal Cake Scent". I'm sorry, I get no "pee note" from YSL's Kouros. I can see where there may be something PERCEIVED as a "pee note", given then florals, spices and honey may react strangely on one's skin. It was about 8 years ago I revisited Kouros, and guess what. No peepee. No whizzy. No toilette. Sawdust and Honey? You bet, still there, still wearing mullets, Cavaricci slacks, and boat shoes with no socks. What gets me is that I have met people who have had a wonderful, woody scent on their person, almost like a green forest. I ask them which scent it is they are wearing and the respond, "...Oh, this is an older scent...came out many years ago. It's called Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent."

So what does the Great White Hype hold in store for you, smellgood4u? I am not sure, but my wish to you is that YSL's perennial powerhouse finds much harmony on your skin, and even though it may not fulfill your wishes to a tee, I hope the scent works well on you and for you, and that you never have a dull time wearing it. It's hard being someone in a group who is in a middle ground on a scent so polarizing (I do not hate Kouros, but I don't feel the need to really own it. To me, it's OK), but you know what? It's also a lot of fun. I get to stir the pot, and stay emotionally detached as well.